News 08:00

BULLETIN 21 November 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The president of the European Council supports South Africa’s G20 priorities
# The EFF raises concerns over the lack of resources for the Parliament’s ad hoc committee
# And rugby: Lood de Jager’s appeal against his red card and suspension was dismissed

# European Council president, António Costa, says the G20 Leaders’ Summit is a great opportunity to sit around the table and bring new proposals to tackle the global challenges. He was speaking during a press briefing in Johannesburg yesterday, following a trilateral meeting with president Cyril Ramaphosa and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. Costa says the European Union’s partnership with South Africa is based on mutual respect and a commitment to democracy, multilateralism, and a fairer, more sustainable world:

# The EFF has urged Parliament to provide more resources to the ad hoc committee investigating police corruption. The party warns that without proper funding, the committee may struggle to produce quality work on matters of national security. The EFF’s Leigh-Ann Mathys calls on Parliament to urgently provide the necessary funds to ensure the investigation into alleged collusion between politicians, police, and criminals can proceed effectively:

# Parliament’s portfolio committee on Public Works and Infrastructure says it remains concerned about George Municipality’s unwillingness to fully disclose what led to the building collapse in May last year. Thirty-four construction workers died when a multi-layer building collapsed. The committee met with municipality officials yesterday to find out what steps have been taken to hold those responsible to account. Committee chairperson, Carol Phiri, says the municipality continues to hide behind legal processes and refuses to release the Engineering Council of South Africa’s report on the collapse.

# The United Kingdom’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic could be summarised as too little, too late. This is according to an independent report following an inquiry into the government’s handling of the pandemic. The report states that lives could have been saved during the first wave of the pandemic had a mandatory lockdown been introduced a week earlier. Inquiry chairperson, Baroness Hallett, says there was a toxic and chaotic culture at the heart of the UK government during the pandemic:

# Rugby: Springbok lock Lood de Jager has lost his appeal against a four-match ban. He was red-carded for a dangerous tackle on Thomas Ramos during the win over France earlier this month. De Jager appeared before an independent Appeal Committee, where he argued that the sanction did not merit a red card, as there were mitigating circumstances, including a drop in height from Ramos. The committee states that, after considering further submissions, the panel upheld the decision that the tackle merited a red card and the subsequent sanction.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-24-cents and the euro at 19-rand-90-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-56-cents and Bitcoin trades at 85-thousand-444-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-52-dollars-12-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 62-dollars-5-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….